A Verdant Solitude

A note sounded, pure as glass. It was followed by another, and several more. Soon, it turned into a melody. It was a summoning.

Shen reached out. Like breaching a veil, he fell into the waking world.

"Oof!"

Groggily, Shen felt his body rolled down a slope. It was a bumpy ordeal. His world has been blissful oblivion, but he could feel it slipping away. Brightness seeped through his eyelids. Then, like recalling some bygone instinct, he opened his eyes.

There was green, and there was brown. The shades of colors soon solidified into an interwoven mass of moss, buttress roots, and undergrowth.

Ding

A clear note sounded once more. With it came a wisp of light. It was green, but its clinical hue a stark contrast with the lush green in its surroundings.

Shen reached out. Under his fingertips, the light morphed into countless little glyphs and some diagrams. They felt familiar, but their meanings escaped him. As he pondered, the glyphs coalesced into a trail. It pulsated as it glows, leading to a place afar.

"Let's go, I guess."

Sunlight spilled through the canopy. It was quiet, save for the muffled chattering of unseen critters. Shen slipped into contemplation as he trekked through the forest.

It was strange. Shen could not remember how he ended up in this place. He had an inkling of his life before. He lived, he worked, and he had family and companions, but the faces were blurred and his actions were dazed.

Shen was unsure of his memories, but his instincts were clear. The light will guide him. Though, he was not in a mood to hurry. He looked around, taking in the strange flora.

How did they get so tall? Shen wondered.

As if on cue, light glyphs appeared near the tree trunks. Then, they shifted into figures depicting the trees. Shen could not understand most of them, but it was mesmerizing nonetheless.

"Alright, how about this one?" Shen shifted his thought onto a shrub beneath. The light glyphs responded, appearing next to the shrub. Then, they superimposed onto the shrub, showing a vision of the plant flowering, then fruiting, and turning into a seedling.

"I think I'm starting to get the hang of it."

Shen turned his attention to the forest chattering. The light glyphs dispersed. Soon, images of strange creatures formed in the air. Individual chirps, buzzes, and scurrying were pinpointed.

These were alien to Shen. He was sure of it. This place was not a part of his past.

"Alright, so this tree has 5 rat-creatures hiding in it." Shen mumbled, looking at the light glyphs. He took his time to examine his surroundings as he followed the light trail.

"Well, that's a big pigeon...thing."

"Oh eww. That one's like a..cockroach. But way too many legs."

As Shen continued, he saw strange structures hidden in the depths of the woods. They were angular. Carved, not grown.

Huh? Shen did not know much of this place, but from what he had learned, this was a wilderness. There are people out there?

Shen knew, deep down, that whoever was out there, would not be his kin. He felt it. Those faces in the past, they were no longer around. Yet, what did he have to lose?

Curiosity got the better of him, and he wandered off the path of the trail.

Carefully, Shen approached the structures. They reminded him of his old ratty apartment. Those thin walls and narrow windows. They seemed to be made of stone and embedded into the tree trunks.

Though, as Shen got closer, he could see that the structures were far too small for humans. He summoned the light glyphs for a closer examination.

Voom

A deep note sounded. Suddenly, the lights turned red.

The forest sank into complete silence.

Run.

From afar, the leaves were rustling.

Shen dared not to turn back. He dashed towards the direction where he came from.

Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.

The light trails were gone.